Awards, May 17, 2001

The following awards have been presented for work in management, philanthropy, and volunteerism:

Advocacy. The Gleitsman Foundation (Malibu, Calif.) has selected Bernard Krisher and Martin Macwan to share the 2001 International Activist Award and its $100,000 prize for their work to empower poor people in Cambodia and India, respectively. Mr. Krisher founded American Assistance for Cambodia (Tokyo) and Japan Relief for Cambodia (Tokyo) to build schools in impoverished, rural villages of Cambodia equipped with satellites and Internet connections. Mr. Macwan, a member of the Dalit caste, formerly referred to as the “untouchables,” founded the Navsarjan Trust (Surat, India) to provide legal help to those fighting human-rights abuses against the Dalits.

Health. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle) has named the Centre for Health and Population Research (Dhaka, Bangladesh) the first recipient of the Gates Award for Global Health, which includes a $1-million prize and recognizes a group that has made a major and lasting contribution to global health. The center develops strategies to combat health problems prevalent in developing countries and conducts applied research on vaccines.

Leadership. Mary Hiland, president and chief executive officer of the Alliance for Community Care (San Jose, Calif.) has received the inaugural Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Award from the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits (San Jose). Ms. Hiland was honored for her skills in planning for future needs in the mental-health care her organization provides while increasing its financial resources by 25 percent to meet demand. The award comes with $25,000.